John Parry

This is a photo of John Parry 2nd officer of The Netherby shipwrecked on King Island on 1866. Eight months before the wreck of the Netherby, Parry was working as a seaman with the Brocklebank line of traders at Whitehaven, Liverpool. On Christmas Day 1865 the fully-rigged sailing merchant ship Tenasserim, which left Liverpool for Calcutta, India, was wrecked off the Irish coast by severe gales. Parry was lucky to have escaped with his life along with thirty three others. It was reported that all thirty three sailors had strapped themselves to the foremast and rigging of the broken and submerged vessel awaiting help for twelve hours, although two of the crew had died.

Parry owed his life to a coxswain named Peter Kavanagh who courageously rowed to the wreck in an open lifeboat from Arklow to rescue the first lot of survivors. Kavanagh later received the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (founded in Great Britain 1824) silver medal for bravery.

On 3 January 1866, Parry, who was back in Liverpool, was issued a “Certificate of Competency as First Mate” from the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade. It stated “Whereas it has been reported to us that you have been found duly qualified to fulfill the duties of First Mate in the Merchant Service, we do hereby in pursuance of the Merchant Shipping Act 1854 grant you this Certificate of Competency”.

Two months later he was employed with the Blackball Line as Second Mate on the Netherby under the command of Captain Owens, departing London for Australia in April 1866.

The Netherby was wrecked on King Island in the Bass Strait on the night of 14 July 1866. The evacuation of the ship began on the morning of the 15th when Chief Officer Jones and Second Officer Parry finally got a line to the beach and by 9am they were each manning lifeboats and ferrying passengers ashore.
added by Tania Bell on May 12, 2020.